LAKELAND, Fla. – No. 2 Florida Southern women's lacrosse is ready to host the 2026 Sunshine State Conference Semifinal, presented by S3 Design, at Berend Field Thursday evening (5 pm) against No. 8 Embry-Riddle. The Moccasins earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the first-round bye, where the Eagles earned the No. 4 seed.
Records
No. 2 (1) – Florida Southern – 15-1, 7-0 SSC – SSC Regular Season Champions
No. 8 (4) – Embry-Riddle – 12-4, 4-3 SSC
How They Got Here
Florida Southern won the conference title outright, going a perfect 7-0 in SSC play to earn the top seed in the SSC tournament. The Eagles hosted the fifth-seed No. 13 Florida Tech, on April 18th and defeated the Panthers 16-11.
#2 Florida Southern
The Moccasins posted a 15-1 overall record on the season, with their lone loss coming to (then) No. 5 Flagler 13-7 on February 26th. The Saints then moved up to first and have held the top spot in the national rankings ever since. Since then, Florida Southern enters postseason play on an 11-game win streak, with a perfect 7-0 run in SSC play.
Florida Southern has posted four SSC Player of the Week honors, with Brayden Cannelli earning the final Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. Jenna Vetter, Kolby Cohen, and Charlie Laye also SSC weekly honors, while Vetter and Cohen were both named IWLCA Player's of the Week once this season.
The Mocs average just over 13 goals per game, primarily led by junior attacker Vetter with 51 goals so far. Lindsey Tolliver and Louise Aloi have been welcome additions to the Moccasin offense with 21 and 19 goals, respectively, while returner Hanna Watson has hit her stride in SSC play with 20 goals this season. Eight Mocs are in double-digit scoring figures, while five sit with double-digit assists. Watson, Cohen, and freshman Riley Rivera lead the assists department, each with 15.
In addition to her offensive contributions, Cohen has been dominating on the draw with a team-leading 107 draw controls. Freshman Leanna Rivera has also seen some time at the draw, with 50 draw controls so far in her rookie campaign. On the circle, Brayden and Audrey Cannelli have been a dynamic duo, combining for an additional 76 draw controls.
The Moccasins have a lockdown defensive unit led by a core group of seven players with double-digit caused turnovers. Audrey Cannelli leads the squad with 31, while graduate student Charlie Laye has posted a career-high 25. Laye leads the squad in the ground balls department with 29, reaching 100 in her career in the Mocs' most recent game against Palm Beach Atlantic. Florida Southern has versatility in net with Rebekah Bargeron and Annesley Flint splitting time. Bargeron boasts a 9-0 record with a 47.0% save percentage and a 7.60 goals against average, while the freshman Flint holds a 5-1 record and a 33.7% save percentage.
#8 Embry-Riddle
The Eagles enter Thursday's meeting with a 12-4 record, with three of their four losses coming in SSC play. Their only non-conference loss was to #1 Fagler, where they fell 19-12 on March 18th. However, the Eagles are road warriors, with a 4-1 record; their only road loss came to (then) #8 Tampa, 17-8, to close the regular season.
Embry-Riddle averages nearly 15 goals per game, with five players above 20 goals. Eliana Enners paces the Eagles with 53 goals ahead of Ava Rogala at 31, Natalie Jansky at 25, Jordan Davis at 24, and Ashley Albert at 20.
The Eagles have three main components of their draw team, with Alber, Rogala, and Enners all above 50 draw controls. Embry-Riddle's goalkeeping has been exceptional, with Ella-Rae Cox posting 123 saves so far this season, with five double-digit save performances.
Series History
Florida Southern leads the all-time record at 8-1 with six straight wins against Embry-Riddle. The lone Eagle win came during the 2022 season, 15-7, in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Mocs are 5-0 at home since 2019. In the last meeting, the Mocs shut out the Eagles for the entire second half for a dominant 10-5 victory in Daytona Beach. Vetter led the Mocs with three goals on nine shots and Rivera added four points on two goals and two assists. Bargeron made a season-high seven saves in the win. The Mocs and Eagles are facing off in the SSC Semifinal in back-to-back years.
South Region Rankings
Florida Southern and Embry-Riddle are two teams represented in the first true South Region rankings on April 22. The Moccasins came out as the No. 1 team in the region, while the Eagles are No. 5 in the first ranking.
South Region Rankings – games through April 19
- Florida Southern
- Flagler
- Saint Leo
- Tampa
- Embry-Riddle
- Lynn
- Rollins
- UAH
